The U.S. business cycle that began with the recession of 2001 featured both a “jobless recovery” and substantial structural change, leading some to ponder the “Sectoral Shift Hypothesis,” whereby restructuring purportedly creates labor market inefficiencies. Previous studies have...

We test for a unique form of compensatory behavior among smokers who wish to continue their nicotine consumption following the smoking bans placed on bars. We find a substantial increase in smokeless tobacco use among smokers, particularly those who drink and are of typical bar-going age. We...

This study examines the relationship between international trade, technology, and exposure to job displacement, using data on displaced workers as well as those at risk of job dislocation, for the two-year sample periods 1986–1987 and 1990–1991. Workers employed in manufacturing industries...

This paper presents new results on the relationship between severance pay and labor market performance for a sample of 21 OECD countries, 1956–1984. Specifically, it evaluates Lazear’s empirical argument that severance pay reduces employment and elevates joblessness. His findings are shown...

Atypical work has long been criticized in popular debate as providing poorly compensated, precarious employment. Yet the empirical evidence is both incomplete and mixed. The main contribution of the present paper is to estimate wage differences for the full set of these alternative work...

In this paper, we exploit the longitudinal element of the 1990 and 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Surveys for Britain to investigate the effect of unionism on establishment closings. Contrary to both recent U.S. research and long-standing British work, we find a strong positive association...